Obese women face higher miscarriage risk

Obese women who have had a miscarriage appear to be more likely to miscarry again in the future than normal-weight women, new research suggests.

Researches studied 696 women who had suffered an unexplained miscarriage and found that the risk of another miscarriage was 73 per cent higher for obese women than those who were a healthy weight.

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Commenting on the findings, which are due to be presented at a meeting of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Montreal, Winnie Lo said: 'Ours is the first study to look directly at the link between BMI and recurrent miscarriage.

The expert, who is a clinical nurse specialist at London's St Mary's Hospital, suggested that all women with recurrent miscarriage should be weighed at their first consultation and advised to lose weight if necessary.

However, Dr Nick Finer, an endocrinologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital near Cambridge, told the BBC that while there are good reasons for losing weight before conceiving, 'it is recommended that women do not try to do this once pregnancy is established'.

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